Motorboats are widely used for towing people that ride on various devices. For example, a toroidally shaped inner tube may be towed behind a motorboat, carrying a person on top. The prior art has developed covers for encasing inner tubes. These covers, which are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,451,239 and 4,635,581 provide a means for attaching the tow rope from the motorboat and provide a closed bottom. The closed bottom of the prior art covers cause the inner tube to plane on top of the water and provide a supporting surface for the rider.
While prior art covers provide enjoyment, they are limited in use to a single adult rider. There is inadequate room in or on the inner tube for additional riders. A water sled has been developed to accommodate plural riders. The water sled has an inflatable, generally cylindrical tube. Two smaller tubes are located laterally along the main tube and are provided to stabilize against rolling motion. Plural riders straddle the main tube, which is towed from one end.
The problem with the prior art water sled is that the riders sit too high up. This destabilizes the water sled, so that unintentional rolling over is very common. Furthermore, a rider sitting along the tube is often crowded by the adjacent riders. Further still, the riders sit on the primary air envelope surface. If the air envelope surface leaks, it is repaired by patching. However, because the riders are in direct contact with this primary surface, the integrity of the patch may be threatened by rubbing, scraping, etc.